The Coronavirus

[pbrower2a]

Like many others I have contemplated what I would do when the COVID-19 plague abates. I thought that northern Michigan would be  comparatively safe. Well, many others had that idea before me, and some micro-cities of the northern Lower Peninsula are badly afflicted even if they look better tan the urban Hell-holes of southern Michigan and the insipid farming communities of southern Michigan. People were taking  I-75 north from Greater Detroit, US 131 from Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids (it is freeway for about 150 miles, and US 127 from Lansing and Jackson (much of it freeway. Michigan builds excellent roads to foster tourism in a state that one has to take some effort to get to.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the northern Lower Peninsula are tourist paradises in most years. This time they are "Paradise Lost" instead of a piece of northern New England in the Midwest.

Quote: OTSEGO COUNTY — A late start to social distancing to contain the spread of the coronavirus and Gaylord’s crossroads location may have helped to turn Otsego County into a hot spot for the virus in Northern Michigan.

The county now has 19 confirmed cases of the virus or COVID-19 as of Wednesday (April 1) according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). In contrast, Grand Traverse County, with nearly four times the population (92,573 in 2018) as Otsego (24,665), has eight cases. Charlevoix County, with 26,244, has recorded four cases.

Dr. Josh Meyerson, medical director at the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, said Otsego’s elevated case level reinforces the importance of social distancing and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order.

“Some of the cases originated from a case affiliated with international travel and then involved people who had contact with each other at a public place. All of that occurred prior to executive orders that limited movement and prior to any known cases in the county,” he said.

Everyone was following the protocols that were in place at the time, Meyerson noted.

The Health Department of Northwest Michigan on March 23 issued a news release to make the public aware of an area that may have allowed for virus exposure.

“Individuals who were present at Bennethum’s Northern Inn on March 12 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. and March 14 from 8:00-10:30 p.m. may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should self monitor for 14 days from the date of potential exposure (either March 12 or March 14),” said the release.

“As we became aware of the cases we utilized contact tracing to reach out to all of the contacts to facilitate their testing if they had symptoms and then reached out to their contacts,” said Meyerson.

He said the department has noticed a “significant” decrease in the number of contacts who are associated with positive cases since then because there is less exposure as people have been sheltering in place.

“I think it is safe to say that appropriate social distancing was not fully practiced throughout our community until we began seeing positive cases. It took many people by surprise to find out we had a positive in our own county. People tend to think that Northern Michigan is more protected than other places and we have seen that this is not necessarily true,” said Dr. Janelle Hendrian, chief medical officer at Munson Healthcare Otsego Memorial Hospital in Gaylord.

Hendrian noted that Gaylord is along the busy I-75 corridor “and many people from all over the state, including Northern Michigan, stop here for food and supplies. We currently have more positives reported than other Northern Michigan counties. Due to the nature of our town and wide utilization of our amenities, it is theoretically possible that we have more opportunities for exposure than one would think,” she added.

“It’s possible this is evidence of community spread or that they are individuals that work outside of the county and imported COVID-19 into Otsego County,” said Lynn Sutfin, public information officer for MDHHS. “It’s possible that several members of a family tested positive. (It) could also be that more people have been tested in Otsego County compared to Grand Traverse or Charlevoix counties.”

Meanwhile, Otsego County officials declared a local state of emergency due to the virus.

In related COVID-19 developments:

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Michigan reached 9,334, including 337 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the MDHHS.

There have been three virus-related deaths in Northern Michigan in Emmet, Kalkaska and Missaukee counties. Larry Cummings, 76, a professor at North Central Michigan College, passed away Tuesday at McLaren Northern Michigan in Petoskey because of complications from the virus.

• Whitmer said Thursday that Michigan’s 1.5 million public school students would not return to their classrooms this school year because of the coronavirus outbreak unless restrictions are lifted.

Michigan joins a growing list of states to cancel classroom instruction for the rest of the year, including Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia.

• Whitmer also declared a state of disaster in Michigan on Wednesday and asked the state Legislature to extend Michigan’s existing state of emergency and new state of disaster by 70 days.

The order does not extend Michigan’s “stay-at-home” order, which is set to expire April 13. But it lays the groundwork for the governor to extend that order and other emergency orders now in place, for up to 70 days, should the Legislature approve the resolution, according to the Detroit Free Press.

https://www.petoskeynews.com/gaylord/fea...0ca60.html

Just stay home and make the best of the ugly reality of life. It is not that there is no place like home; it is that all else might as well not exist other than the communities, however dreary they may be, are all that is reasonably available for an indefinite time. Accept that Nature is not your ally. Maybe when we get this virus out of the way we will be in better shape for seeking to improve our communities instead of trying to escape them. Cleaning up the mess of our political life and a mindless, depraved culture  

For now I hate Life, and I do not refer to a board game, a cereal, or a defunct magazine. COVID-19, I understand, is a nasty way to go, and I will do my damnedest to outlast it.